1959 Pontiac Catalina - Redneck Ruse

Imagine an event that tests not only quarter-mile speed but also
endurance. Competitors roll in with nicely detailed paintjobs,
immaculately engineered engine bays, and interiors stuffed with
gauges, shift lights, lightweight racing seats and floor shifters.
Then a bunch of overall-wearing hayseeds cruise up in a clappedout,
four-door Pontiac bubbletop with a blowup doll in the back seat.
There goes the neighborhood.

Brent "Buck" McCoy has earned a reputation for showing up
at HOT ROD Drag Week with unassuming cars that clock times
far quicker than you'd expect. In 2010, his four-door, small-block,
Chevy-powered '68 Buick Skylark sported one aluminum head and
one iron double-hump head yet still ran high 10s on nitrous. He's
also known for his sense of humor and his reluctance to spill the
secret of how he builds quick cars while making it look easy.
Just like in the previous year, Buck showed up at the '11 Drag
Week with his pals dressed in straw hats and overalls, playing the
part of country folk out for a cruise in the family car. Ten Buck
launched his '59 Catalina sedan and jerked the front wheels off the
ground, bugging eyes everywhere. Because Buck and his buddies
have so much fun creating--and maintaining--their hillbilly façade,
we make no guarantee that he didn't throw us a red herring when we
tried to get the dirt on his behemoth Pontiac.

Tis time around, Buck went for big-block power, rebuilding a '72
Chevy 454 bored to 4.35 inches. Dave Hight balanced the rotating
assembly, and Buck assembled the engine with Doug Woody. A
Chevy forged crank, Manley rods, forged J&E pistons, and an Erson
solid roller cam with 0.695 inch of lif and 256/266 duration at 0.050
made up the short-block. Brodix oval-port heads ported by Tony
Schafer were bolted down, followed by a Dart intake, a Zex plate
nitrous system, and finally a 950-cfm Holley.
Power is routed through an M&M Transmission 3,800-rpmstall
torque converter into a reverse-manual-valvebody Turbo 400
HOT ROD

transmission built by Mike Leighty. Keeping
the sleeper appearance, Buck modiTed the
factory column shiffer to work with the new
shiff pattern. Peek inside the car and you'll
see vinyl buckets, stock gauges, and no real
hint of the car's capability other than an
unobtrusive rollbar.

One example of Buck's ingenuity is the
three-link rear suspension he fabricated
himself. Using a Ford 9-inch with 35-spline
axles, a spool, and coilovers from Strange,
Buck fabricated lower arms and used the
factory upper arm, telling anyone who asked
that he repurposed a bus A-arm. You can't
argue with results; with 4.11 gears and the
same 295 Hoosier Drag Radials he used at
Drag Week last year, the Catalina had a best
60-foot time of 1.53 and a best e.t. of 10.68 at
last year's Drag Week, but he's since upped
the nitrous and lowered his 60-foot time to
1.41 with a best e.t. of 10.04

Buck and his crew took home the Daily
Driver class win at the '11 Drag Week
with an average time of 10.9007. If tradition
continues, look for the same set of tires to
push another four-door through the traps
at this year's Drag Week. With a Buick and
a Pontiac under his belt, maybe it will be an
Oldsmobile this time--who knows? One
thing you can count on: Even though the
cars change, the overalls never will.